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Idaho State University was recently awarded a five-year, $2.375 million federal grant to help local seasonal farm workers and their immediate family members earn a high school equivalency diploma.

ISU officials learned on Aug. 12 they had received the High School Equivalency Program grant, offered through the U.S. Department of Educationâ€™s Office of Migrant Education. During each of the five years covered by the grant, ISU will receive $475,000 to prepare classes of up to 48 students from migrant families to pass the General Education Development test.

Janna Graham, director of ISUâ€™s Intensive English Institute, which is part of the universityâ€™s Academic Success and Advancement Programs, wrote the grant and will serve as director over the new program, which she hopes to have running by January. Ethnicity, immigration status and primary language will not be considered in determining eligibility for the program, which will be offered for free to anyone who earns a living through seasonal farm work, as well as immediate family members who are at least 16 years old.

Idaho State takes on FBS No. 11 Utah on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The Utes are coming off their first-ever uncontested Pac-12 South championship in 2018 and might be even better this year â€” their No. 11 ranking in the AP Top 25 is the highest theyâ€™ve been since Week 12 of 2016, when they also came in 11th. Here are three keys to the game for the Bengals, plus three players to watch for each team.

Tackle, Tackle, Tackle

Per Pro Football Focus, senior Utah running back Zack Moss, listed at 5-foot-10, 222 pounds, has broken 26 tackles in two games, seven more than anyone else in the FBS. With the push that Utahâ€™s gigantic offensive line can provide, the Bengals will likely be giving up yards in the run game before they can even get hands on Moss, and if they gift him yards after the first hit, it will make their jobs even more difficult.

Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah seats 45,807. Itâ€™s hosted the Olympics, a U2 concert and, of course, some of the greatest wins in Utah football history.

And this Saturday, it will be the site of a homecoming for Idaho State assistant coaches Kam Yancy and Lei Talamaivao.

â€śThe very first time I ran down the tunnel (at Rice-Eccles), it was unforgettable,â€ť Yancy said. â€śI remember everything. I remember the disciplines, I remember how tough it was. I remember the structure, all the coaching. I remember all the wins and all the losses. I remember relationships with my friends. Thereâ€™s nothing I donâ€™t remember. Those are the greatest times of my life, was my three years at Utah.

Boyd comes to Idaho State in pursuit of starting her coaching career after competing collegiately at Corban University in Oregon. During her four-year pitching career, Boyd became the schoolâ€™s single-season record holder in innings pitched (202 1/3), wins (23), appearances (36), starts (32), and shutouts (9). She also tops the schoolâ€™s career records in ERA (2.18), innings pitched (497 2/3), wins (54), appearances (103), starts (73), and shutouts (17).

â€śHer success and experience as a pitcher at Corban will have a great impact on our pitching staff on the field,â€ť Brown said. â€śBut more importantly, her work ethic, dedication to excellence and desire to invest in the lives of athletes makes her the perfect fit. Sabrina has a joyful and positive spirit and energy about her that is going to be such a fabulous addition to Idaho State softball.â€ť

“Tolkien” will be featured this Saturday and Sunday, Sept, 7 & 8, at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m. at the ISU Pond Student Union.Â Go to the Bengal Theater for tickets and concessions. The fascinating story of the early life of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R.Â TolkienÂ is on display as he navigates life from childhood, through college, a World War, the loss of friends, and his growing relationship with someday wife Edith, all of which helped to influence and inspire his works. “A beautifully told tale that shows the value of strong, supportive friends and how they can shape our lives, our decisions and our personalities,” writes ABC Radio. (Rated PG-13) Â Admission isÂ $3Â for the public,Â $2Â for ISU staff and free for ISU students with Bengal ID.Â For trailer and more information, go toÂ www.pocatellofilmsociety.com/Tolkien.

POCATELLO â€” Michael Dean and Mitch Gueller both scored touchdowns, Ty Flanagan was the workhorse for the offense, and Kody Graves led the defense in tackles.

But it was far from business as usual Thursday for the Idaho State Bengals against Western Colorado.

In both teamsâ€™ season-opener at Holt Arena, the Bengals let the NCAA Division II Mountaineers hang around until deep into the third quarter before finally pulling away for a 38-13 win that could have been much closer.

â€śItâ€™s nice to be 1-0,â€ť Idaho State head coach Rob Phenicie said. â€śItâ€™s fun to win games. â€¦ We have a lot to clean up. It was not our finest product by any stretch of the imagination.â€ť

POCATELLO — It was Idaho State football’s first fall practice of 2014, and Anthony Ricks was nowhere to be seen.

The freshman cornerback wasn’t nursing an injury, or in trouble with his grades.

No, Ricks missed most of the first practice of his college football career because, still just 17, he needed a parent to co-sign on the paperwork that would make him eligible to participate. While his teammates took the field for their first practice, Ricks was desperately faxing forms to his mom in California so she could sign them and he could get on the field.

It’s a funny story, and telling it years later in the ISU football offices, Ricks’ usual smile cracks a little wider â€” not just because of the memory, but because of the irony.